The King and Perez the Mouse knelt down too
The little King, however, paid no attention to his beautiful present, and let it lie unnoticed on the bed, while, leaning on his elbow, he lay very busy thinking. *Then, suddenly, he asked the Queen in a very solemn voice, ‘Mama! Why do poor children say the same
prayer as I do, “Our Father which art in Heaven”?’ The Queen answered, ‘Because He is as much their Father as He is yours.’ Then said the King thoughtfully, ‘We must be brothers.’ ‘Yes, my darling, they are your brothers,’ answered the Queen. *Bubi’s eyes were filled with astonishment, and, in a choky voice, he asked, ‘Then why am I a King and have everything I want, while they are poor and have nothing?’
The Queen gave him a squeeze, and, kissing him again on his forehead, said, ‘Because you are the eldest brother, which is what being King really means. *You understand,
darling? God has given you everything in order that your younger brothers should want for nothing.’ ‘I never knew this before,’ said Bubi, shaking his head, and, without thinking any more about his present, he began to say his prayers, as he did every morning; and, as he prayed, it seemed to him that all the poor little boys in the kingdom came round him with their hands clasped, and that he, the eldest brother, spoke for them all when he prayed ‘Our Father which art in Heaven.’
King Bubi grew up to be a great ruler. *He always asked God’s help in all he did, and returned